Google Play Store getting an additional touch of Material You [Gallery]

Abner Li | Mar 6 2022 - 2:52 pm PT

Google rolled out a Material You redesign for the Play Store in October, but it really only applied to the homescreen. The Play Store will soon get new Material You buttons throughout the app.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Material You leverages pill-shaped buttons compared to Material Design 2, which used rectangles with slightly rounded corners. We enabled a Play Store today that implements the new button style everywhere, including on app listings for “Install,” “Update,” and “Uninstall.” Visually, it makes the buttons appear shorter. You’ll also find the buttons on the “Pending downloads” screen.

Meanwhile, “Manage apps & device” no longer uses those oblong shapes for the “Installed” dropdown or the “Updates available” and “Games” filters, as well as other elements. It’s a fair enough reversal given how buttons are a more common design element than chips.

Despite the updated buttons, there is no new instance of Dynamic Color, even on the buttons.

As noted, we enabled this small Material You button redesign with the latest version of the Play Store. It has not yet rolled out to end users.